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Westminster Central Hall

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	Topics Westminster Central Hall Topic Home Methodist Central Hall, WestminsterWestminster Overview Westminster is a district within the City of Westminser in London, England.... is on Victoria Street in LondonLondon Overview London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom.... , just off Parliament SquareParliament Square Parliament Square is a square outside the north-western end of the Palace of Westminster in London.... , next to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference CentreQueen Elizabeth II Conference Centre The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is a conference centre in London, England.... and facing Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly ... . It is a multi-purpose building—a Methodist church, a conference and exhibition centre, an art gallery, an office building, and a tourist attraction. The Great Hall seats up to 2,352 people. History Central Hall was erected to mark the centenary of John WesleyJohn Wesley John Wesley was an 18th-century Anglican clergyman and Christian theologian who was an early leader in the Methodist moveme... 's death. It was built in 1912 on the site of the Royal Aquarium, Music Hall and Imperial Theatre, an entertainment complex that operated with varying success from 1876 to 1903. Central Hall was funded between 1898 and 1908 by 1,025,000 contributors to the "Wesleyan Methodist Twentieth Century Fund" (or the "Million Guinea Fund", as it became more commonly known), whose aim was to raise one million guineas from one million Methodists. Central Hall hosted the first meeting of the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General Assembly Overview The United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations.... in 1946. It has been regularly used for political rallies—famous speakers have included Mahatma GandhiMahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement.... and Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was an English statesman and author, best known as Prime Min... . In 1968 it hosted the first public performance of Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is a highly successful English composer of musical theatre.... 's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat *Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat* was the second musical theatre show written by the team of Andrew Lloyd Web... in a concert that also included his father (organist William Lloyd WebberFacts About William Lloyd Webber William Southcombe Lloyd Webber was an organist and composer.... who was Musical Director at Central Hall) his brother (cellist Julian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber is a British cellist.... ) and pianist John LillJohn Lill John Lill is an English classical pianist.... . It is frequently used for public enquiries, including those into the Ladbroke Grove rail crashLadbroke Grove rail crash The Ladbroke Grove rail crash was an English rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 in which thirty-one people died.... , the sinking of the Marchioness pleasure boat, and the Bloody Sunday incident in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and covers 5,459 square miles in the northeast of the island of Irelan... . From 1932 to 2000, Central Hall was the headquarters of the Methodist ChurchMethodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain or British Methodist Church is the largest Wesleyan / Methodist body in the Unit... . Architecture Central Hall was designed by Edwin Alfred Rickards, of the firm Lanchester, Stewart and Rickards. Although clad in a renaissanceRenaissance In the traditional view, the Renaissance was understood as a historical age in Europe that followed the Middle Ages and ... French style, it is an early example of the use of a reinforced concrete frame for a building in Britain (in some ways similar to the "Kahn system" developed by Julius Kahn in Michigan, USA, in the 1910s). The original 1904 design included two small towers on the main (east) facade, facing Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey Summary The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly ... . These were never built, supposedly because of an outcry that they would reduce the dominance of Nicholas HawksmoorNicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor was a British architect.... 's west towers at Westminster AbbeyWestminster Abbey The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly ... in views from St. James's ParkSt. James's Park St. James's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London in the City of Westminster, London, just east of Buckingham Palace and ... . The interior was similarly planned on a Piranesian scale, although the execution was rather more economical. The domed ceiling of the Great Hall is reputed to be the second largest of its type in the world. The vast scale of the self-supporting ferro-concrete structure reflects the original intention that Central Hall was intended to be "an open-air meeting place with a roof on". The angels in the exterior spandrelSpandrel A spandrel is originally a term from Architecture, but has more recently been given an analogous meaning in Evolutionary bio... s were designed by Henry PooleHenry Poole Henry Poole is a technologist and co-founder of CivicActions, co-founder of Virtual Artists, serves on the Board of the Free... RA. External links